Nevada’s wildfire season is testing more than our firefighters. It is testing the system we have built to respond when communities are threatened.

Nevada’s firefighting system depends heavily on cooperation. Local fire departments, the Nevada Division of Forestry, federal agencies, neighboring jurisdictions and the Nevada National Guard share people, equipment and resources when fires overwhelm any one agency.

That system works because people step up for one another. But this fire season is also showing how stretched it can become.

The Nevada Division of Forestry has a base firefighting budget of roughly $4.5 million, while an average fire year can cost around $24 million. Nevada often has to rely on contingency funding and legislative advances to cover the difference.

And while we rightly talk about the cost of fighting fires, we also need to talk about the cost of preventing them.

Nevada’s state forester estimates that every $1 invested in reducing wildfire fuels can save roughly $4 in future firefighting costs.

As Nevada prepares for the 2027 Legislative Session, wildfire policy should be part of our conversation about Creation Care.

Are we adequately funding prevention before a fire starts?

Are firefighters and local departments receiving the resources they need?

Are our communities prepared to evacuate and care for neighbors who may need additional assistance?

And are we building a wildfire system prepared for the Nevada of tomorrow — or continuing to borrow enough resources to make it through today?

Creation Care means more than responding when the smoke appears. It means investing in our communities, caring for the people protecting them, and stewarding creation before disaster strikes.